Lotus has announced the appointment of John Iley as performance director, with him joining the team from McLaren.

Iley was head of aerodynamics at McLaren having rejoined the team in 2010 following spells with Ferrari and Renault. In his new role, however, Lotus said that he will be "heading up all aerodynamics, CFD and related activity for the team", as he links up with Mike Gascoyne once again having previously worked with him at both Renault and Jordan. Caterham group CEO Riad Asmat said that the appointment was an indication of the team's ability to attract big names.

"We are absolutely delighted that John has taken up the challenge we have offered him, to help take us to the next level on and off track in one of the key areas of performance in Formula 1," Asmat said. "It is a real sign of our growth and development as a serious contender for long-term honours that we can attract someone of John's calibre and we are all very excited about the contribution he will make to our future success from the moment he starts work with our team."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh thanked Iley for his work for the team.

"John greatly contributed to the aerodynamic capability at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but has taken the decision to accept an offer from Caterham F1 team for 2012 and beyond. We enjoyed working with John and wish him well for the future."